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Comment
. 2015 Sep;125(9):3422-3.
doi: 10.1172/JCI83193. Epub 2015 Aug 24.

Hungry irony

Nancy C Andrews
Comment

Hungry irony

Nancy C Andrews. J Clin Invest. 2015 Sep.

Abstract

Iron-deficient individuals experience a loss of appetite that can be restored with iron supplementation. It has been proposed that iron influences the satiety hormone leptin; however, a direct link between iron and leptin has remained elusive. In this issue of the JCI, Gao and colleagues demonstrate an inverse relationship between adipocyte iron and leptin that is mediated by iron-dependent activation of cAMP-responsive element binding protein (CREB), the transcription factor that represses leptin transcription. Together, the results of this study provide a mechanistic connection between dietary iron and the appetite-regulating hormone leptin.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. The transcription factor CREB connects iron status to leptin expression in adipocytes.
Elevation of intracellular iron in adipocytes results in cAMP- and calcium-independent phosphorylation of CREB. Phosphorylated CREB binds 2 sites within the putative leptin promoter and inhibits transcription. Decreased leptin, in turn, increases appetite.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Comment on

  • Adipocyte iron regulates leptin and food intake.
    Gao Y, Li Z, Gabrielsen JS, Simcox JA, Lee SH, Jones D, Cooksey B, Stoddard G, Cefalu WT, McClain DA. Gao Y, et al. J Clin Invest. 2015 Sep;125(9):3681-91. doi: 10.1172/JCI81860. Epub 2015 Aug 24. J Clin Invest. 2015. PMID: 26301810 Free PMC article.

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